THE TOPOS OF KHMELNYTSKY IN OLGA SALYPA’S NOVEL «THE HOUSE ON APTEKARSKA»

Abstract

Literature of the beginning of the 21st century. is marked by dynamic processes of expansion of trends in the emergence of urbanism. The works of modern Ukrainian writers present the topos of the cities of Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislavov), Zhytomyr, Rivne, Ternopil, Kharkiv, and Chernivtsi. Literary researchers have repeatedly addressed the problem of the formation and establishment of urban literature. However, the work of Olga Salipa – an original artist of the word, the author of a number of novels and novels, and the winner of the «Coronation of the Word” contest – remains outside the attention of literary critics. In the article, we focus on the urban portrait of Proskurov at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries and Khmelnytskyi at the beginning of the 21st century. In Olga Salipa’s novel “The House on Aptekarska”, the life of the city is conveyed through the perception and feelings of two women – the pharmacist’s wife Mykhailyna Derevoyed and Ulyana (Lyana) Yakovenko. The author, drawing urban pictures, depicts the city as an environment where a person seeks to find himself, establish himself and realize his place in the world. Various locations of the city appear on the pages of the work, we meet detailed descriptions of urban landscapes. Olga Salipa provides an interesting description of Proskurov, which allows the reader to immerse himself in the atmosphere of city life at the end of the 19th century, and the novel clearly outlines the modern trends of city life. The writer, first of all, reflects the city as an environment where a person seeks to find himself, establish himself and realize his place in the world. The city has the ability to preserve and transmit from generation to generation informational and cultural codes, which are the basis of civilizational development. The feeling and perception of the city are consonant with the mental visions and experiences of the main characters, which proves the tendency to psychologize the narrative. The creativity of Olga Salipa witnessed the further expansion of the thematic horizons of modern Ukrainian prose and the renewal of its genre palette.